Cologne’s Heady brew
Cologne’s cathedral and its beer are treasured symbols of this sparkling city, says Neil Geraghty
Arriving by train in an unfamiliar city is always exciting, but nothing quite beats the thrill of arriving in Cologne’s Central Station. I’m travelling up from Frankfurt and as the train nears the city, the graceful twin spires of Cologne cathedral come into view rising timelessly amidst a skyline of Romanesque church towers and futuristic office blocks.
The train approaches the Rhine and begins thundering over the colossal Hohenzollern Bridge, Germany’s busiest railway bridge. Through the struts that decorate the bridge’s three arches, I get tantalising views of the cathedral before the train slowly judders to a halt. If the view from the bridge is impressive, the view as you walk out of the station is jaw-dropping. The main entrance faces directly onto the cathedral square where arriving travellers are greeted by a soaring wall of flying buttresses, pinnacles and gargoyles. Many simply drop their suitcases in amazement and the sight of tourists staring up in wonder at this Gothic masterpiece is much the same as it must have been in medieval times when thousands of pilgrims passed through Cologne en route to Santiago de Compostela.
For footloose young men in the late Middle Ages the pilgrimage was an early form of gap year where they could experience the wonders of the world and in the case of Cologne, big city vices. One of these was beer. Cologne then as now was famous for its beer and many young pilgrims quickly spent all their money on booze ending up penniless on the streets. To continue their journeys they took temporary jobs in the taverns as waiters and, in honour of St James of Compostela, they were nicknamed Jakobes, the German for James. The name stuck and the diminutive term köbes is still used for beer hall waiters today who with their distinctive blue aprons and wisecracking personalities are the life and soul of Cologne’s vibrant beer culture.
In the shadow of Cologne cathedral lies Früh one of the city’s best loved beer halls which played an important role in the rebuilding of the city after the Second World War. During Allied bombing raids, 90 per cent of the city was destroyed but miraculously both the cathedral and Früh’s subterranean brewing equipment survived. After the war, Früh was the first brewery in Cologne to resume production and provided discounted beer to rival
companies while they rebuilt their breweries. The beer halls became symbols of Cologne’s rebirth and to counteract the rise in popularity of pils the brewers began refining their traditional top fermented ale, kölsch, making it lighter, hoppier and more effervescent. The result is a wonderfully refreshing light ale.
Malzmühle is one of the few beer halls in central Cologne that still brews its kölsch on site and runs fascinating tours of its vintage production facilities. The hall, in common with others in Cologne, is a faithful copy of a 19th century beer hall and is decorated with wood panelling and antique bric a brac. Inside, the köbes roam around carrying circular trays of kölsch and it’s important to remember certain rules of etiquette when interacting with them.
Never raise your hand to get their attention and place two beer mats in front of you, one for the beer and one for the tally. The köbe will then replace your drink automatically and when you want the bill, simply place your beer mat on top of your glass. Drinking with friends also has a firm set of rules: always toast from
the bottom of the glass, look straight into each others eyes and never cross arms. If you break the rules then your love life will be jinxed for seven years.
Afterwards, I head over to the lively suburb of Ehrenfeld where I visit a local microbrewery Braustelle in which the owner Peter Esser is experimenting with Cologne’s brewing traditions and has created an unfiltered kölsch that is fruitier and more complex than traditional kölsch. He has also branched out into gin distilling and has created an extraordinary black pudding and sauerkraut flavoured gin named after the popular beer hall speciality, Schlatplatte. I’m keen to try it and am pleasantly surprised by its subtle smoky and spicy notes.
Following my visit to the microbrewery I return to my hotel and head up to the 12th floor rooftop bar for a nightcap. I order a kölsch and as I sip the cool refreshing draught, a blood red moon slowly rises behind the soaring spires of Cologne’s majestic cathedral.
If you break the rules then your love life will be jinxed for seven years
Neil stayed at the centrally located 4 star Pullman Hotel, www.pullman. accor.com/pullman/cologne. For more visit www.germany.travel and
Cologne www.cologne-tourism. com